Hen with hurt legs

[Prim'smom]

my approximately 3 year old hen started limping about 3 weeks ago. We’ve checked her for bumblefoot and can find nothing at all visibly wrong with her feet or legs. We’ve examined her daily for anything to clue us to what’s wrong. She now hardly walks at all and stopped eating a little over a week ago. We’ve got her in her own cage and give her B12 daily along with electrolytes and water with a syringe. We’ve gotten a few pieces of canned corn in her, a few mealworms, a little watermelon, etc but very little. She may be eating a little on her own but it’s very little if any. Her comb is red, her eyes are bright and she’s alert. I’ve given her several warm baths because she poos on herself because she doesn’t want to or can’t walk. Her poo is foamy green. I keep thinking if I can just get her strong enough she’ll walk but she won’t eat! Please help!! What can I do?

 

[Eggcessive]

What does her crop feel like? Is it empty, full, soft, hard or puffy? Check it again in early morning before she eats or drinks anything if it is full. Her green poops may be from little or no eating. Has she been laying eggs recently? Can you check her lower abdomen below her vent to see if it is enlarged, spongy, or tight. At her age if she has not been laying normally, reproductive disorders such as internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, ascites, and cancer are common.

I would mix up some chicken feed with a lot of water, and also try some cooked egg to get her to eat. Many reproductive disorders are not successfully treated. If she befins to suffer I would think about putting her down.

If you lose her, I would either get a professional necropsy by your state vet, or do one yourself and look at her abdominal organs. Take pictures and post here if you can. Some illnesses may be more easily seen in the liver, abdominal contents, intestines and pressence of yellow fluid, lash eggs or egg matter, or large amounts of fat.

 

[Prim'smom]

What does her crop feel like? Is it empty, full, soft, hard or puffy? Check it again in early morning before she eats or drinks anything if it is full. Her green poops may be from little or no eating. Has she been laying eggs recently? Can you check her lower abdomen below her vent to see if it is enlarged, spongy, or tight. At her age if she has not been laying normally, reproductive disorders such as internal laying, egg yolk peritonitis, salpingitis, ascites, and cancer are common.

I would mix up some chicken feed with a lot of water, and also try some cooked egg to get her to eat. Many reproductive disorders are not successfully treated. If she befins to suffer I would think about putting her down.

If you lose her, I would either get a professional necropsy by your state vet, or do one yourself and look at her abdominal organs. Take pictures and post here if you can. Some illnesses may be more easily seen in the liver, abdominal contents, intestines and pressence of yellow fluid, lash eggs or egg matter, or large amounts of fat.

She hasn’t been laying lately... probably for about two months. I assumed it was due to molt. A friend suggested that it could be the rooster’s spurs, she’s his favorite of 17 hens. We’ve trimmed his spurs just in case and have kept them separated for about 3 weeks. I mixed her some starter crumbles and warm water together this morning but she ate very little of it.

 

[MissChick@dee]

Just a suggestion you could roll a towel for her to sit on it would lift her rear up and help with her dirty backend.

 

[Eggcessive]

A chicken sling may be helpful in this case to get the hen upright and in front of food and water. They can come out of it for rest periods and at night to sleep, but they may stay cleaner and reach food. Read post 5 here for pictures of slings that you can make:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Eggcessive]

This is the general design and can be placed in a dog crate or box:

 

[FarmerGirl101]

So I am not trying to scare you but I had a chicken who had Mareks that had these symptoms. But there are just possibilities.